BOISE, Idaho ? For two quarters and change, it was a game worth rivalry hype.

Then a handoff went awry. A scoring possibility was lost and the swing in momentum washed over the University of Idaho as Boise State went on to win the Western Athletic Conference game 58-14 before a sellout crowd at Bronco Stadium.

“As soon as that ball came out of our hands,” Idaho coach Robb Akey said, “that changed the game. “

The Vandals trailed 24-14 at the half and had marched to the Bronco 13 before the exchange between Nathan Enderle and Brian Flowers hit the blue turf and Ryan Wintersywk pounced on it.

“We got our tails whacked in the second half,” Akey said.

The second half was, indeed, unkind to the Vandals. After the fumble that ended the promising start to the second half, the Idaho offense went on a three-and-out run that extended into the fourth quarter.

“The first half was a football game,” Vandal running back Deonte` Jackson said. “I commend them for whatever they did at halftime. They brought a lot more pressure.”

It was one of those games during which one half bore little resemblance to the other. Even the 10-point halftime differential wasn't a true reflection as BSU tagged on a late-second quarter TD that was fueled by a 25-yard pass play to move the Broncos to within striking distance.

“This one hurts,” senior linebacker David Vobora said. “We were doing some things right early but they did some things that hurt us. They came back in the second half and did those things.”

It was a combination of “things” for the Broncos, who were stalwart on defense while amassing 556 yards total offence.

The Broncos took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards to score on Ian Johnson's 7-yard run with 12:52 left in the first. The big play of the drive was a 56-yard hookup between Taylor Tharp and Austin Pettis, who found himself wide open on the left side of the field. Kyle Brotzman's PAT was good for the 7-0 lead.

Idaho wasn't as fortunate on its first possession. After being forced into a punting situation, T.J. Conley dropped the snap and then scrambled back to the Vandal 39 to return the ball to the Broncos with 11:11 left in the first.

The Vandals averted further damage when they held the Broncos on four plays with Jo`Artis Ratti and Brandon Ogletree stopping Johnson short of a first down on fourth-and-two. Idaho regained possession at its own 30 with 9:35 left in the opening quarter.

With Jackson providing the impetus, the Vandals crossed midfield on their next possession before stalling after a false start penalty pushed them back to their own 46. This time Conley's punt went into the end zone and the Broncos took over on their 20 with 5:29 remaining in the first.

It looked as if the Vandal defense had stopped the Broncos on the possession but a fake punt caught them off guard and BSU wound up with the ball at its own 29. A pass interference call in the end zone gave the Broncos the ball at their 2 as the first quarter ended. Tharp connected with Richie Brockel to score 35 seconds into the second quarter.  The successful PAT kick gave the Broncos a 14-0 lead.

A workmanlike drive gave the Vandals their first score. After starting at their 20, they marched the length of the field with Jackson providing consistent runs and, ultimately the 8-yard TD, with Brian Flowers spelling him with a key 19-yard run and a vital 16-yard reception. Tino Amancio's kick was good as Idaho closed the gap to 14-7 with 9:17 to go in the half.

Idaho was able to limit the Broncos to a 34-yard field goal on their next possession as they went ahead 17-7 with 4:51 remaining in the second quarter.

Lee Smith provided the electricity when he sprinted behind the defense and pulled down a 68-yard pass from Enderle to give the Vandals the ball at the BSU 6. Jackson pushed his way through the middle for three yards before serving as the decoy while Eddie Williams rolled in from the 3 to close the gap to 17-14 ? with Amancio's kick ? with 3:10 left in the opening half.

Tharp helped his own cause on the Broncos next drive when he escaped a potential sack and scrambled 25 yards to give BSU the ball at the Idaho 16 with time winding down in the half. He hooked with up Pettis for the four-yard TD that put the Broncos up 24-14 with :35 to go.

The second half started with great promise for the Vandals. Jackson started the half's first drive with a couple bullish runs before Enderle found him behind the defense for a 47-yard pickup via the air. However, Enderle fumbled the exchange on the next play and BSU gained possession at its 16.

Taylor Rust and Breyon Williams came up with a couple keys plays en route to holding the Broncos on the next series. Rust's was a five-yard tackle-for-loss on a BSU reverse, while Williams swatted the ball away on what could have been first-down pass yardage. However, BSU punter Brad Elkin hit the corner on his punt to give the ball back to the Vandals on their own 3.

An incomplete pass, a one-yard run and another incomplete pass failed to move the Vandals away from the goal line, which brought Conley on to punt. With the return, BSU was starting at the Idaho 29 with 9:38 left in the third.

The Broncos made the most of the short field. In four plays, they scored on a five-yard pass from Tharp to Pettis. The PAT kick boosted them to a 31-14 lead with 8:15 remaining in the third.

The Vandals again were forced to punt when they managed just one yard in three tries. The punt gave BSU the ball a the Bronco 42 where, in one play, they were in the end zone again when Tharp went deep to Titus Young for a 58-yard TD. The PAT, with 6:20 remaining in the third, increased the margin to 38-14.

Three-and-outs continued to haunt the Vandals, who again stalled ? this time at their own 20. BSU started in the short field again with the ball at the Idaho 45. An unlikely sequence ensued. First, it looked as if the Broncos scored on a pass to left tackle Ryan Clady. It was called back because of an illegal forward pass penalty. Faced with third-and-29 at the Idaho 30, Tharp went to the end zone where Idaho was whistled for pass interference. With first-and-10 at the Idaho 15, Johnson's number was called and he went up the middle to score for a 45-14 Bronco lead.

The Vandals' run of three-and-outs finally ended on a drive that overlapped from the third quarter into the fourth but they couldn't break out of the funk that plagued them since the fumble.